A Message From Ingrid Newkirk

I am astonished at the things humans do to make animals look or behave a certain way – and at how even those of us, like me, who love animals can be oblivious for so long. For instance, while I “got” that cutting off part of a dog’s ears to make them look fierce was just plain wrong, until it was pointed out to me, it didn’t dawn on me that “Frenchies,” English bulldogs, and other breathing-impaired breeds, bred for a look, have such drastically shortened airways that they can never be comfortable.

When dogs pant, with their tongue sticking out of their mouth, that’s not “normal” – it’s a sign of overheating, stress, or distress. They need to be cooled down or helped in some other way.

I was once blind to what horses endure, even to how some of them suffered at my own hand. As a child, how could I have not recoiled in horror when I was first handed a crop, a whip?! Standard equipment. Whip your horse!

Whipping is routine in racing, sometimes with no limit to how many times a rider can hurt a horse to force them to go faster, faster – just to win a prize. PETA has exposed many forms of cruelty in racing, from drugging horses with amphetamines (even injecting cobra venom!) to squeezing the last penny out of them at the slaughterhouse.

Once, I was atop a cantering horse. Suddenly, she stopped, dropped her head, and deliberately threw me over her neck. She’d had enough of my pulling on her mouth and kicking her in the ribs (also routine practices).

Please help us stop allowing animals to live in servitude – it’s atrociously cruel.